Becoming your child's advocate

Kathryn Elison, MSW Clinical Social Worker, shares advice for parents with a hospitalized child on how to be the best advocate possible for your child when they are sick
Hospitalized Child Advice | Becoming Your Child's Advocate
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Becoming your child's advocate

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Being the best advocate for your sick child starts before they're sick. Keeping good medical records including immunizations and any documents about past medical illnesses and hospitalizations can help. Another thing you can do is keep a chart. When you think that your child is experiencing physical symptoms, chart the time, chart the frequency, and chart the context of these symptoms. Presenting the previous documents along with your chart can help speed up a diagnosis with your medical team. Another way that you can be a great advocate is do your research. Stick with the more medical websites or sources of information, but you want to look into and explore your child's symptoms. That way you're prepared and you can advocate for what you think it is. Don't forget, you are the expert on your child. You have a voice in this, and so never be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you don't feel comfortable with information presented by the medical team.

Kathryn Elison, MSW Clinical Social Worker, shares advice for parents with a hospitalized child on how to be the best advocate possible for your child when they are sick

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Kathryn Elison, MSW

Clinical Social Worker, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Kathryn Elison is a Clinical Social Worker at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She was drawn to her profession because of her passion to provide support to families experiencing a medical crisis. Kathryn accompanies her patients and their families during one of the most stressful journeys of their lives, helping them navigate through this challenge and supporting them each step of the way. A native of North Carolina, Kathryn moved to Los Angeles, CA after receiving a Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys exploring her new home state of California with her husband Jed and her dog Sallie.

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Transcription: 
Being the best advocate for your sick child starts before they're sick. Keeping good medical records including immunizations and any documents about past medical illnesses and hospitalizations can help. Another thing you can do is keep a chart. When you think that your child is experiencing physical symptoms, chart the time, chart the frequency, and chart the context of these symptoms. Presenting the previous documents along with your chart can help speed up a diagnosis with your medical team. Another way that you can be a great advocate is do your research. Stick with the more medical websites or sources of information, but you want to look into and explore your child's symptoms. That way you're prepared and you can advocate for what you think it is. Don't forget, you are the expert on your child. You have a voice in this, and so never be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you don't feel comfortable with information presented by the medical team.